Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office: Burglaries, assaults drop in 2012

SANTA CRUZ -- Reported burglaries, assaults, robberies and rapes in unincorporated Santa Cruz County declined in 2012 compared with the past few years, the Sheriff's Office reported Thursday.

There were 723 reported burglaries in unincorporated county areas, which was nearly 200 fewer burglaries than in 2011. The rate of arrests per burglary also increased from 6.7 percent in 2011 to 7.9 percent in 2012.

The agency trailed the national average of 12.7 percent of arrests per burglary in 2011, according to the FBI. National figures were not yet available for 2012.

"That's an improvement," sheriff's deputy April Skalland said. "That's what most deputies deal with all day long," she said of burglaries.

The rate of arrest per violent crimes -- such as assault and robbery -- was about 39.5 percent in 2012 for the Sheriff's Office. The national average was 47.7 percent in 2011.

Typically there are fewer violent crimes than property crimes, and violent crimes demand more detailed investigations.

In 2012, deputies made arrests in several burglary rings, which contributed to the trend, Skalland said.

One significant burglary investigation was in August 2012, when a man and woman allegedly broke into homes, cars and storage units to gather identity information.

Deputies said Erin Alexis Boetzer, 26, and Bernard Gomez, 29, opened credit cards in others' names, bought items online and had them sent to a home in Scotts Valley, Skalland said at the time.

The pair now faces a preliminary hearing on Feb. 4 for burglary and other charges, according to court records.

Also in 2012 in the Sheriff's Office, reports of robbery, rape and assault fell compared with 2011.

There were 32 reports of robbery in 2012, compared with 36 reports in 2011. There were 20 reports of rape, compared with 34 reports in 2011. Assaults also dipped from 708 reports in 2011 to 654 reports in 2012.

Detectives investigated five reported homicides in 2012, compared with three homicides in 2011, seven in 2010 and two in 2009.

Overall, the Sheriff's Office fielded 71,235 calls for service in 2012, said Stephanie Zube, operations manager at the Santa Cruz Country Regional 911 Center.

Figures for previous years were unavailable Thursday.

The Santa Cruz Police Department had 104,946 calls for service in 2012, which was a record. The department includes its predictive policing rounds in its calls for service, which was a factor in the increased calls, dispatchers said.

Predictive policing essentially sends officers to a list of locations during certain times to try to stop property crimes before they happen.